Building a Kubernetes Cluster at Home
Why Build One?
Kubernetes is the backbone of modern cloud infrastructure—but you don’t need to work at a tech giant to benefit from it. Running a home Kubernetes cluster gives you hands-on experience with the tools that power the internet. It also allows you to self-host services like media managers, dashboards, and storage with automation, scalability, and resilience.
It’s a valuable project for anyone interested in DevOps, IT automation, or just building smarter homelab environments.
The Learning Curve
Kubernetes can feel overwhelming at first. Between YAML, networking, persistent storage, and the overall architecture, it’s easy to get lost. That’s why this blog breaks it all down into practical steps focused on real home setups—no enterprise gear or cloud billing required.
I recommend building a docker server to get used to yaml files and provisioning. Build a swarm to level up your skill using persistent storage. So, If you’ve managed Docker containers or set up Pi-hole or a NAS, you’ve already got a head start.
What You’ll Find in This Series
- Installing k3s on Ubuntu (3-node cluster)
- Configuring MetalLB for Local LoadBalancers
- Setting Up Longhorn for Persistent Storage
- Deploying Media Apps on k3s (Sonarr, Radarr, etc.)
- Maintaining Your Cluster